central vermont home

April 28, 2010

Basic Steps for First-time South Central Vermont Home Buyers – PART III

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A simplified guide for painless purchasing of your South Central Vermont home.

Okay, you’ve made your lists of: must have” and “would be nice” features, and you’ve identified desirable neighborhoods with the schools and amenities that meet your needs. Now it’s time to seriously shop for your first-time South Central Vermont home.

Before you even step outside to begin the search, your agent will email to you listings which meet your criteria, and you can “visit” many of them online via a virtual tour. Once you have narrowed down your choices, your agent will arrange for you to look at–in person– your selected properties. A few bits of advice here:

1) Take notes on each home you tour. Too often individual details blur after you’ve seen four (or more) houses in a day.

2) Look past the owner’s furnishings and décor. Concentrate on the features you have identified as important and try to picture yourself actually living in the space.

3) If you have decided that you don’t need a “move-in ready” residence, look at the potential of the property. Would simple cosmetic changes make a considerable difference?

4) Listen to both your head and your heart. Sometimes a property really does “speak” to you, and you know you have found your new home.

March 5, 2010

Staging Tips For A South Central Vermont Open House

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You are selling your South Central Vermont home and the first Open House only a week away. The house is filled with clutter and things you don’t want to throw away. But the clutter is not appealing to potential home buyers. What do you? Here are staging tips for an Open House.

8 Staging Tips For A South Central Vermont Open House

1. Remove the clutter.

Having a garage sale is out when removing clutter because the Open House is only a week away. You don’t want to stuff the garage or closets to the gills either. One solution is to rent an off-site storage facility or stack boxes neatly in a basement or crawlspace.

2. Stage each room.

The first thing to do is clean from top to bottom. Make sure windows and light fixtures shine and are in working order. If the room is crowded, put some furniture in the storage facility. Finally, pick a focal point that will attract buyers when they see the room. For example, the focal point of a bedroom is usually the bed, and for a music room, it’s the piano.

3. Use the rule of three.

First, remove everything from counters and table tops, including coffee tables and side tables. Then re-accessorize using the rule of three…using 3 items of varying heights. For example, on an end table you can place a lamp (high), a small plant (medium), and a book (low).

February 19, 2010

Steps For a Stress-free Move To a South Central Vermont Home

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If you are moving to a South Central Vermont home, you can, with prior planning and these tips, make your move a smooth, less stressful experience. After you have gathered recommendations from friends and checked out moving companies on the web, you should narrow your choices to three or four. At this point you can avoid moving mistakes by using these guidelines to make informed, intelligent choices.

Steps For a Stress-free Move To a South Central Vermont Home

1. Insist on an in-home survey and estimate.
Movers have to actually see what needs to be moved and be aware of items requiring special attention, such as pianos or valued art pieces. In addition,, by meeting the mover’s representative in person, you can get a feel for the way customers are treated by the company. It is also important that you disclose at this time any details, such as elevator availability, street restrictions, etc., to avoid unpleasant surprises on moving day.

2. Beware of too low a price.
While price is certainly a major consideration in making your selection, you need to question a low-ball estimate, Are there hidden charges? Is the firm reliable? Does it value your business? Is it a licensed, insured mover? Check the web at www.protectyourmove.com for this information and for a record of customer complaints.

February 5, 2010

Why Not Sell Your South Central Vermont Home In Winter?

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Are the winter blahs setting in? How can you keep them at bay and infuse your life with a new found purpose? That’s easy–put your South Central Vermont home on the market. Although spring is traditionally considered the optimum time to sell a home, there are positive aspects to selling in the winter.

Buyer time constraints: A majority of corporate moves take place around January, and transferees need to find a home quickly. Parents are also anxious to get their children settled in a new school as soon as possible. By the way, some experts believe it is better for a child to move during the school year as opposed to the summer months. Starting a new school immediately upon arriving in a new location allows for an easier time of making friends and establishing new routines.

Tax credit extension: Now that the Home Buyer Tax Credit Act deadline has been extended to April 30^th, many first-time buyers and “repeat buyers” are seriously looking to purchase a South Central Vermont home–and soon!

Motivated buyers: In addition to those mentioned above, other potential buyers are also out there looking. Those who have recently sold their own home or renters whose lease is ending are desperately in need of a new home. Remember, too, that house shoppers who brave cold temperatures, hard rains, and possible flooding can surely be considered serious buyers.

Availability of professionals: Because the winter season is not a particularly busy one in the field of real estate transactions, agents, mortgage brokers, and settlement attorneys will be more accessible to you and your buyer. Questions may well be answered more quickly, problems anticipated in advance or solved more calmly, and settlement times more flexible and accommodating.

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